This invention relates to a method of fabricating a structure having a number of components which are bonded together; and more particularly to a method of fabricating composite structural wings and fins for aircraft. In aircraft such as missiles for example, it is of prime importance to be able to construct wings or fins having high strength, low weight, and high temperature resistance. This is because of the range, maneuverability, and other such performance characteristics of the missile are directly dependent upon these features.
The disclosed method is described in detail in conjunction with the fabrication of a dorsal fin for a missile. This fin is comprised of a lightweight core, a high temperature resistance skin convering which is bonded to the core, and a channel for attaching the core to the body of a missile and which is bonded to a portion of the core and the skin covering. In the prior art, fabrication of such a fin would consist of the following steps: (1) fabricating a composite cured skin shell, (2) filling the skin shell with a syntactic foam, (3) fabricating a cured channel, and (4) bonding the channel to the foam filled shell. The first and third steps involve separate layups, vacuum bag curing and post curing. These are expensive and time consuming operations. Also during the post cure, the parts have to be restricted by the tools to avoid warpage; and thus the tools are tied up during the post cure cycle. The fourth step of the prior art process calls for a separate bonding procedure, cure cycle, and a suitable adhesive. These further increase the fabrication time and cost of the fin.
It is therefore one object of the invention to provide an improved method of fabricating a composite bonded structure.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of fabricating a composite bonded structure which requires no vacuum bagging.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of fabricating a composite bonded structure which requires no autoclave curing.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method of fabricating a composite bonded structure which requires only a single curing and post curing operation.